This invention relates to cookware and more particularly to roasters in which poultry, such as turkeys for example, are cooked.
Turkeys or the like which are to be roasted in a home oven are typically placed in a large lidded pan known as a turkey roaster. The roaster catches drippings from the cooking meat, inhibits release of volatile greases into the external environment, retains moisture in the meat and brings about a more optimal distribution of heat to different areas of the turkey or the like.
Turkey roasters designed for indoor oven use are not well suited for outdoor cooking where the available heat source is a gas cooker, barbecue stand or campfire for example. Compared with an indoor oven, such heat sources apply relatively intense heat to a limited area of the base of a roaster and reduced heat elsewhere. The conventional indoor roaster is proportioned to enable a horizontal orientation of the turkey. These factors can result in an uneven and undesirably slow cooking of the turkey if the indoor roaster is placed over a typical outdoor heat source of one of the above described kinds.
Conventional cooking of a turkey or other large fowl including in indoor ovens typically requires several hours. This prolonged cooking time can be a considerable inconvenience.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems discussed above.
In one aspect the present invention provides a convection heating system particularly adapted for containing a large fowl during roasting of the fowl. The system includes a pot shaped base member and a top member having an inverted pot shape and being disposable on top of the base member. The base member and top member jointly form a high heating chamber proportioned to receive and enclose a dressed full sized fowl which is in a vertical orientation. The bottom of the base member ha s an opening at a substantially centered location in the base member. A tubular heat pipe extends upward from the opening and is proportioned for fitting into the interior cavity of the dressed fowl, A trivet member supports the fowl in the heating chamber while holding the fowl out of contact with the bottom of the base member. The trivet member has a centered opening which enables the heat pipe to extend upward through the trivet member and into the overlaying upright fowl.
In another aspect the invention provides a food container particularly adapted for containing a large fowl during roasting of the fowl. Components include a circular pot shaped base member which is of increasing diameter in the upward direction, the base member having an open rim at the top and having a bottom with a substantially centered opening therein. A tubular heat pipe extends upward from the opening within the base member. Additional components include a circular top member having the shape of an inverted pot and which rests on said rim of said base member, the top member being of progressively decreasing diameter in the upward direction. The top member and base member jointly form a heating chamber proportioned to receive a dressed full sized fowl which is in a vertical orientation with the heat pipe extending up into the interior of the fowl. An annular trivet plate encircles the heat pipe within the base member and has airflow openings which extend through the plate. Legs extend down from the trivet plate to support the plate at a location which is upwardly spaced from the bottom of the base member.
The invention effects a highly efficient and faster convection heating of a roasting turkey or the like particularly where the roaster which contains the turkey is placed over a concentrated heat source as in outdoor cooking. The heating chamber is proportioned to hold the roasting turkey in a vertical orientation. The height of the heating chamber enhances convection heating. Heat is applied directly to the interior cavity of the dressed fowl through a heat pipe which extends upward from the base of the roaster.
The invention, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may be further understood by reference to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention and by reference to the accompanying drawings.